Nightgown



I July 28, 1 5 R. M. A'DLER 2,896,630

' NIGHTGOWN Filed March :51, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l E INVENTOIL 1 ROCHELLE n. ADLEHR ATTORNEY July 28, 1959 R. M. ADLER 2,896,630

N IGHTGQWN Filed March 31. 1958 2 sheets-sheet:

'a 29, III, [Wann M W7 M I I? 3 l l %l wi d/W 1 AT TaRNEY NIGHTGOWN Rochelle M. Adler, Scarsdale, NY. Application March 31, 1958, Serial No. 725,372 4 Claims. Cl. 128-454) This invention relates to a garment useful as a sleeping garment, which in the single garment provides the wearer with support for her breasts, whether she is awake and standing, or asleep.

It is rather common among Women that breasts may be oversize and uncomfortably pendulousfor a variety of organic reasons. They may be painful due to cystic conditions developed during and after pregnancy. The opposite extreme may also be true, where, for good reasons, one or both breasts may have been removed. In either case, the physical comfort of the individual requires some kind of support in a sleeping garment and her psychological well-being requires reasonably attractive appearance. In particular the support is necessary when the wearer is in-an erect or in a reclining position, i.e., the

garment must provide comfortable, soft support with vertical and horizontal components.

It is, accordingly, a fundamental object of the invention to providea garment for a Woman which will have all the appearance and styling of a neatly designed nightgown, but will incorporate, as a part of the garment,

ed S e P e breast-supporting structure of a character which may be adapted to the specific needs of the individual.

It is another object of the invention to provide a garment neatly designed for providing soft and comfortable support for the breasts, which garment also is characterized by its being easy to put on and take ofi.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

The invention in its typical form, accordingly, is embodied in a sleeping garment, characterized by its having a Waistbandand skirt, which may beof any length, degree of fullness or ornamentation desired, the upper breast-supporting portion of the garment being particularly formed to provide a contour fit around the wearers back and through the thoracic region and also to provide support and contour fit for the breasts, shoulder straps thereof being'of a broad, soft conformation, the garment being characterized by its having a front which is easily opened and has incorporated therein breast-supporting cups adjusted and adjustable to the size of breasts of the wearer.

A better understanding of the design of the garment of this invention may be obtained by inspection of the drawings, wherein p Figure 1 is a front view of the garment illustrated in a preferred form as it might be worn by an individual;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the garment;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the garment from a. somewhat elevated rear angle showing its appearance without the wearer;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of one of the breast cups taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of a layout of the back panel;

Figure 6 is a side elevation illustrating the relationship of the breast cup to the midriif.

Refer-ring now to Figure 1, 10 represents the figure of attached to a waistband 12, which waistband is elastic and maybe shirred over all or a part of its circumference, as indicated at 13. Attached to the waistband is a midriif section formed of elasticized material, preferably in three panels, a rear panel 14 and two front panels 15 and 16. This is best seen in Figures 1 and 2.

The rear panel 14 is cut on substantially a horizontal line along the waistline, just above the hips, as indicated at 17, and side edges thereof are cut at a slightly tapered angle to form a natural curve, moderately curved upwardly, as shown at 18 and 19, to give a generally trapezoidal silhouette with the top edge 20 cut on a long arc, or an arc of smaller radius. The upper edge 20 may have the radius of its arc across the back varied to give the back of the garment varying degrees of lowness in the cut. Fundamentally, however, the edges 18 and 19 should be sulficiently long to provide adequate snug fit and support to aboutthe level of the intersection of the triceps muscle, and the arm, as indicated at 18' and 19', respectively.

Front midriff panels 15 and 16 have side edges tapered or slightly arcuate to match edges 18 and 19 of the rear panel so that front lines or seams Zlland 22 are definitely pitched at a slight angle, with an apex between the breasts at a level just above the point of the sternum about where the first rib is attached, following approximately that level under the breast which may beconsidered to be the extreme lower edge of the area commonly designated the breast.

An empirical guide in determining the placement of this line is the line located by the lower edge of the ladys hands when they are raised to cup the breasts and support them naturally in a comfortable position. For purposes of this specification this may be designated as the natural hand line.

Panels 15 and 16 have their inner edges finished, in this instance, in two peaks each, 23-44, 2526, respectively. Two have been selected as representing the optimum for providing fastening or ties at the front, although three or four ties might be used. The respective-peaks 23 -25 and 24.26 are each provided with eyelets 28, 29, 3t) and 31 to receive cord fasteners 32 and 33. For convenience the cord is actually sewed or attached to the panel on one side or the other so that it is never lostt Through this elastic midriif structure, basic snug sup: port around thelower part of the thorax, particularly close under the breasts, is provided. The panels are made of elasticized fabric generally of texture Whichmight be used in a lightweight fabric elastic and may have any degree of ornamentation desired, it being essential only to shape the panels to provide a moderate upward taper as a base f or the support of the breasts above the hand line, Also, the elastic threads in the fabric forming panels 14, 15. and 16 are preferably oriented it to run around the chest so that the stretch or give is circumferential. Exact details of sizing and proportioning are balanced with each garment. In general the elastic midriff, unstretched should enclose about two-thirds of the circumference of the midrilf, so that when closed in a comfortable degree of compression is realized.

Breast cups 40 and 41 are preferably formed with a contour to fit the size of breast they are expected to accommodate and each is formed of four sections, three of said sections being essentially triangular, Also, breast cups 40 and 41 are made of non-elastic. material. Thus, in the embodiment shown, cup 40 is formed of sections 50, 51, 52 and 53, of which only section 53 is not essentially triangular. Sections 51, 52 and 53 are sewed together along lines 54, 55, 56 and 57 tObfi brought to a pyramid, slightly rounded, essentially in the form of a natural breast, the size being, of course, ad-

a wearer of the garment, wherein the skirt portion 11 is justed to the anticipated size to be fitted. The lower edge els 6t), 61, 62 and 63 are matched to form the roundedtip conical cup. Each of the cups is provided at its inner point with eyelets 70, 71 and ties 72 which may be sewed to either cup for permanent fastening so that the garment may be fastened around the breasts.

Internally, as shown in Figure 3, the cup is lined with matching soft cup. For example, in one form of cup, on avertical line the line formed by the internal panels 80 is not sewed together, but rather the edges are overlapped, so that there is left an opening 82, which opening may be closed merely by arranging the folds.

An alternative form of cup liner is shown on the other cup, which consists in forming liner 85 so that it is openable at the top for distances indicated by 86 and 87.

Shoulder support of the breast cup portion of the garment is provided by means of loops 90 and 91 attached to the individual cups and shoulder straps 92 and 93 which are attached at the rear to loops 94- and 95.

It is to be understood, of course, that the breast cup structure described is merely exemplary and that other external forms may be used.

Support for pendulous breasts in this nightgown is thus provided by means of the fitted elasticized midriff for certain minor adjustment for size around the waist by means of the ties.

In those instances where there has been a removal of a breast and a cosmetic effect is sought, the pocket structure formed inside the cups makes possible the util- V ization of filler or artificial breast, commonly provided in such instances.

In the event that the wearer during the course of utilizing the garment develops the need for permiting the waistline to expand, the shirred waistband permits the adjustment of the fit in this area.

In utilization of the garment the combination of the rear cut elasticized midriif adjusted to the height of the breasts with the non-elastic cup structure provides a high degree of comfort for those cases requiring such support. Fastening in front is a real advantage in making the garment convenient to use.

It will be seen from the foregoing description of the garment that it provides support for the breasts of the wearer wheher she is reclining, while asleep, or whether she is in a vertical position. It is important particularly when reclining or asleep, that the breasts receive horizontal support, and it will be apparent that the structure provided wherein the cups are firmly attached to the natural shaped waistband provide this desired degree of support. Similarly, in a vertical position an effective degree of support is obtained. In addition, it is to be noted that the entire garment is made of soft material,

' light sewing, light stitching, and that both the vertical and horizontal support is achieved without substantial pressure on the breasts or without the use of bones or hardware in the supporting portion of the garment.

By reference to Fig. 4 it will be apparent that support in the vertical direction is achieved by the soft shoulder strap. This vertical component is effective over the front of the breast and since its base is the natural hand line, comfort is achieved. Horizontal support is derived by the placement of the waistband and orientation of the hand line as a base. Extension of the back panel around to a vertical line 18 or 19 at the base of the breast and further extension of the panel upward to 18 and 19' develops a horizontalsupport component which contributes to both comfort and appearance.

Materials of construction, of course, are determined in part by femaletaste. Skirt portions may be of any 4 conventional light materials useful for the purpose. Nylon, rayon, silk in tricot, chiffon, etc., weaves are useful. For the elastic waistband portion it is desirable to have the exterior side ornamented with lace and this has been so indicated in the drawings. Many varieties of elastic fabric are available in the garment trade and such weights as are used in girdles and corsetry are useful, as well as lighter and less elastic grades. The breast cups are lined with any soft material, which will be comfortable next to the flesh. Light nylon and rayon weaves are indicated. a p

The structure as described may be contrasted with the ordinary brassiere, wherein the support is from the shoulders and is heavily dependent on the shoulder straps, which form of support is of no value at night when a wearer wishes to retire. The tight fastening involved in a brassiere impairs free breathing at night and in general the tight strapping over the shoulders and around the chest will produce pressure marks in the flesh of the wearer.

Although the invention has been described in terms of only a single embodiment, it is to be understood that variations thereof may be practiced without departing from its spirit or scope.

What is claimed is:

l. A garment embodying a brassiere top having breast cups, comprising a midrilf portion, a skirt attached thereto, said midriif comprising an elastic fabric rear panel characterized by its having a generally trapezoidal configuration, the shorter of its bases being oriented to waistlevel of a wearer, the longer of said bases of said panel forming a natural line across the back of a wearer approximately on a line immediately below the shoulder blades, front panels attached to said waistband defining upper base support line just under the breasts of awearer at a. natural level, fastening means on the remaining two edges of said front panel sections, said fastening means being brought together along a front line to permit front opening of said garment and consisting of ties, breast supporting cups attached to the upper edge of said midriff section along said upper base support line and being shaped natural to form a joint with said elastic midriif section along a line at about the base of the breasts, said breast supporting cups having a central tie for fastening together across the chest of the wearer, and shoulder support continuing from loops in said supporting cups to corresponding loops on the upper edge of the rear section of the midriif portion.

2. A nightgown comprising a skirt, a waistband attached thereto, said waistband being elastic and flexible, a bust panel attached to said waistband and formed of a combination of elastic and non-elastic material connected thereto and extending from said waistband to a level sufficient to enclose and support the breasts of'a wearer in a comfortable position approximating a natural position whether the wearer be standing erect or reclining, the

- bust panel comprising a back panel of elastic material stretchable in a circumferential direction, said elastic material having a fundamental trapezoidal configuration, the shorter base of said trapezoidal section being joined to the waistband to provide outward taper along the natural curve for the wearer, the waistband being completed by a pair of additional elastic members forming front panels for said garment, said members joining the rear panel along side lines which in fitted position are forward of a center line of the wearer, said front panels having tie fasteners brought together to at least two points along a vertical line to permit front opening of the garment, breast supporting cups joined to the upper edges of said front ponels along a natural base line immediately under each breast, said cups being formed to have a natural configuration suitable for supporting breasts, the cups in addition being attached to the rear panel along a line corresponding to the side line defining the front panels, fastening means between said cups for bringing them together in fixed position on the wearer, means on said cups to receive straps passing over the shoulders of said wearer to the rear upper edge of said back panel, whereby vertical support of the breasts in the natural standing position of the wearer is achieved, and horizontal support is also achieved through the attachment of said cups to the elastic rear and front panels, thereby deriving horizontal and vertical supporting components across the breasts.

3. A garment in accordance with claim 2, in which the breast cups are formed with liners divided to form an interior soft pocket for receiving and supporting a filler.

4. A nightgown comprising in combination a waistband, a skirt attached thereto, said waistband being adapted for supporting it at the natural upper hip line of a wearer, said waistband being shirred and elastic over substantially half of its circumference, a bust panel attached to said waistband for providing natural horizontal and vertical support for the breasts whether the wearer be standing or reclining, said panel being formed of a combination of elastic and non-elastic material and comprising a rear elastic panel of a generally trapezoidal configuration, the rear panel consisting of an elastic fabric wherein the yield is in a circumferential direction around the body of the wearer, the coverage of said elastic panel extending in the fitted position around the sides of the wearer to a vertical line approximating the forward edge of a wearers arm hanging naturally at her side, front elastic panels joined to said rear panel along said side lines and said waist line, the front panels defining a further base line for supporting the breasts, the said base line corresponding approximately to a line under the breasts corresponding to a level where the breasts join the chest, said front panels being formed in a pair of peaks abutting each other to permit the said peaks to be tied together to form a basic elastic bust support, the remainder of said bust panel being formed of non-elastic material and comprising breast cups sewed to form rounded pyramidal cups to receive breasts in natural form, each cup having lateral support up to a level just below the arm joint where the elastic is the rear support panel, each cup being further attached to a front panel along a base line, each cup also having vertical. support through an upper loop and strap passing over the wearers shoulder to a rear loop attached to the back panel, fastening means attached to the inner edges of said cups to provide means for closing the garment along a front line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,387,586 Bradford Aug. 16, 1921;

1,990,322 Goldberg Feb. 5, 1935' 2,253,902 Gordon Aug. 26, 1941 2,402,782 Schwartz June 25, 1942 2,493,179 Wittenberg Jan. 3, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 453,754 Canada Jan. 4, 1949 

